This is the last chapter, I hope you've all liked this! I have some other stuff planned, so look out for that!

Enjoy!

December comes quickly, and the entire loft has given up hope on Nick and Jess ever getting back together. They were just going to end up old people living in the loft alone together with constant sexual tension and saying 'we're just friends'.

Jess was very aware of everyone staring at her and Nick setting up the Christmas tree. She's singing her favourite songs while passing Nick decorations who willingly puts them up. "This is ridiculous." Schmidt shakes his head. "Why am I sitting here watching two people putting up a Christmas tree?"

"We have a menorah, Schmidt; so we have a tree." Nick says, hanging up more ornaments and smiling down at Jess who had ignored Schmidt and continued singing. "Okay I'm done!"

"Great!" Jess claps, admiring their tree (and the man next to it). "Eggnog time."

She runs to the kitchen and pours them each a glass, sitting down next to Nick, who had put a Home Alone into the TV. Sitting together as a family watching Christmas movies was Jess' idea, and Nick (always willing to do whatever to make her happy) was the one who convinced everyone else to do it, especially Schmidt, he needed extra convincing.

The night moved along very quickly and weirdly sober for all of them, and at the end of the night, Jess' head was resting on Nick's shoulder, half asleep. Everyone else is already in bed, and she honestly doesn't want to move, but then she feels her body being lifted off the couch. Her arms are immediately around his neck and she's suddenly very awake, aware of his hand under her knees and hand on her back.

She pretends to still be half asleep when in reality her heart is going crazy in her chest, influencing her next words when lays her down on her bed, starting to tuck her in. "Stay with me, please…"

The uncertainty and nerves are obvious in his eyes, but he smiles and nods before walking to the other side of the bed and sliding in, pulling her in close. Having Nick's arms around her is extremely confusing, but also very comforting. She doesn't know what this meant, if he was doing it because he thought she was lonely (as she had been lately) or if he wanted to sleep with her because he wanted to.

She feels his lips pressing on the top of her head, and she decides not to think too much about what was happening and enjoy it.

When Jess wakes up in the morning, finding herself alone and she's worried for minute that she had dreamed it, but her other pillows looked used, so he had definitely slept with her last night.

She searches the entire loft, including his room and he isn't there. Winston is in the kitchen and he shares a sympathetic smile, "He left to go for a walk an hour ago, looked confused. So, uh, what happened?"

"Uh, yeah, I asked him to stay and sleep with me… Just sleep, but he did." Jess said shyly, looking for something to keep her hands occupied.

"Does this mean I win the bet?" Winston's eyes widen.

"No! Nothing happened, we just slept." Jess shakes her head, moving to find her tea. "WHY DO WE RUN OUT OF TEA WHEN I NEED IT MOST?"

"Jess, calm down!" Winston is standing up now, Cece and Schmidt, having heard Jess slowly walked out of their room, "Hey, morning guys, Jess is on the verge of a meltdown."

"Oh here we go again." Cece sighs.

"He slept in her bed last night!" Winston whispers to catch them up. "And he left this morning, his emotions were all over his face and that, he's real confused."

"WHAT? DOES THIS MEAN WINSTON WINS?" Schmidt slams down on the table, and Jess is ignoring them, trying to find anything else to think about.

"Jess, are you okay?" Cece asks.

"I want to tell him." Jess looks down at her feet, and her eyes are welling with tears. "But what if sleeping with me was because of pity? He did it a few months ago… I love Nick, but what if I lose him again? That's why I haven't told him, I can't lose him again but – I can't let him go..."

"Jess, you aren't ever going to lose Nick. You know that he's always going to be there for you." Schmidt starts, "I've never seen him love anyone like he loves you, whether he knows it or not. And I might add, I envy you for that."

"You have to at least try." Cece adds, "I gave it a chance, and look, I'm married now, to the man I love. You deserve that chance."

Jess goes out to try and find Nick, it was time, she had to tell him. It was time to face the truth.

She's not surprised to find him at the park, waiting at the bench where he usually talks to Tran, obviously waiting for him. She takes a deep breath before straightening out her red dress and walking over to him. "Hi…" Jess smiles weakly, her nerves are evident in her voice.

"Hey… I didn't expect to see you here." His smile his also nervous, and he's rubbing his scruff. She also notices that he's wearing the scarf she knitted him over the Summer, and it looks so nice on him.

"I wanted to talk."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They just stare at each other for a few minutes as she tries to figure out what she wants to say, the words are hard to find. "Um, ever since the wedding, with Reagan coming back, I realised a few things…" Jess' hands are playing with the hem of her dress, and Nick places his hand on her knee to calm her down. "And I ask you to please let me talk, no interruptions."

"Yeah that's fine…" Nick barely gets the words out, the tension is thick and they're both feeling it.

"Um, okay so I… I realised that everything I was looking for, the guy with a traditional banking account, and someone who has a plan, that is what I thought I needed for a really long time. But after we broke up, and I dated Ryan and Sam, they were so perfect in writing and I figured out, that the reason those relationships weren't working for me was because none of those guys were you, Nick. No one made me laugh as much, or made me as angry as you do. You said at the wedding that you were the guy that women dated before they found the one they spent the rest of their life with… Well, for me Ryan and Sam, they were the in between guys. Because you are the one I want to be sitting next to in 50 years, grey hairs, saggy boobs and all." Jess is letting everything out, and there are tears staining her cheeks. "Helping you and Reagan that night just helped me realise how in love with you I still am…"

He's silent for a few minutes, and it terrifies her but Nick is still smiling, and he's linked his hand with hers, stroking her knuckles as he tries to find the words for himself. "Jessica… Ever since I got home I've been fighting all these feelings and… I never knew that was how you felt… If I knew… I love you, Jess. I'm not sure I ever really stopped, but I had to let you go because I thought you were happier without me."

"I thought that was what I needed as well, but no one has made me happier than you have, even when we were just friends." Jess feels like she's floating, hearing those words out of his mouth was heavenly.

They continue to hold hands, sitting there quietly and he just stares at her with the biggest grin she's ever seen on him, "Are we doing this again? For real this time?"

"Yeah, for real." Jess is laughing and crying, it doesn't stop when his lips collide with hers. She had forgotten what it felt like to kiss him, seeing through space and time, her whole body alive; she never wants to stop, so her fingers thread through his hair and deepen the kiss.

A whimper escapes her mouth as he separates a few minutes later, resting his forehead against hers, pecking her lips lightly before noticing they had someone staring at them.

"Finally." The man says, and they both turn to see Tran smiling at them.

Jess is shocked at hearing his voice for the first time, and Nick is just looking back and forth from Tran to Jess. "Tran my man," Nick chuckles, "Is that the only thing you're going to say today?"

Tran nods, smiling. "Thank you for everything Tran." Nick says.

"Yes, thank you Tran!" Jess smiles widely, receiving a confused glance from Nick. "He helped me figure a few things out as well."

They decide to stay out for a while longer to talk, kiss without having their roommates around and on their way home they decide to pick up some wine and cake. They wanted to celebrate. Not only with sex, but with their friends.

Nick doesn't let go of her hand in the grocery store, even they both needed their hands to hold stuff, neither of them cared. They are laughing their ways down the aisle, making sure to grab a pack of condoms because they had some catching up to do.

What neither of them expect is to run into Sam and Diane. It's not awkward but very pleasant. "So I was right?" Sam laughs (with his mouth open) when he spots them holding hands.

"It took a while, but yes, you were." Jess nods shyly.

"What is he right about?" Nick and Diane ask at the same time, both curious.

"The night before the wedding, I found Louise's ring and I thought it was Sam's. I told him that I couldn't marry him when he was actually breaking up with me." Jess explained, a small grin on her face, "I wasn't sure at the time why I couldn't marry him, but Sam apparently knew, and it was because of you Nick."

Nick smiles and kisses her cheek, then turning to Sam, "Wow, thanks for helping."

"No problem man… We cool?" Sam asks, "I mean, I know we hated each other, but I think I really understand everything that happened… now that I have Diane."

"Yeah man." Nick and Sam shake hands, Jess can't stop smiling at the both of them and they talk for a few more minutes before taking off to the cash register so they could get home.

Nick and Jess kiss the entire elevator ride up, it was heating up pretty quickly, hands caressing everywhere she could think of and she was hoping, praying, that their roommates might be out or at least on the roof. They aren't so lucky.

Schmidt, Cece and Winston are sitting on the couch, watching movies and wrapping up presents when they walk through the door, hands still linked together. "Who wants some wine and cake?" Jess asks, her voice as happy as ever.

"Why do we need wine and cake, it's hard enough wrapping gifts sober." Cece cringes, not looking up from the table.

Schmidt and Winston do look up though, noticing their hands and how close they are. "OF COURSE WE NEED WINE AND CAKE!" Schmidt jumps off the couch, hugging the both of them.

"I WIN? YES! PAY UP Y'ALL!" Winston is doing a happy dance and Cece finally looks up. "I mean congratulations and all, BUT GIVE ME MY MONEY SCHMIDT'S!"

She smiles at them, "You took your time."

Jess just smiles at them all and leans into Nick's side, who let's go of her hand and wraps his arm around her. Minutes later, they're all on the couch, wine glasses in hand and cake in their hands. "To Nick and Jess, for finally getting their act together! And making Winnie $100 richer!" Winston raises his glass, followed by everyone else.

Jess is curled up next to Nick, her legs up on his thighs with his hand stroking her calves, and it all just felt so right. "I love you, Nick." She says it multiple times throughout the night, sometimes he says it back and other times he just kisses her.

"I never thought I'd be able to hold you like this again. I missed you so much." He whispers, pressing his lips to her temple and breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo. "I love you, Jessica."

Starting tomorrow, the rest of their roommates would find these displays of affection annoying, and they'd tell them to get a room, but for now it was very sweet to see their friends had finally found each other again.

Two years later, Jess gives birth to their first child. A boy. Nick doesn't care that much for anything going on around them because they have a son, and he's married to the most wonderful woman who just made him a father.

Winston and Schmidt are fighting over who gets to be the Godfather and Cece is trying to stop her almost 2-year-old daughter from hitting the baby.

It's chaotic, but it's them.